A variety of optical connectors are used in the optical communications industry to mechanically and optically couple an end of an optical fiber cable to an optical fiber receptacle. In general, an optical connector includes a connector housing that is mechanically coupled to at least one optical fiber. The connector housing includes a ferrule that receives and surrounds a portion of the optical fiber adjacent an end of the optical fiber. The optical fiber comprises a fiber core, a cladding that surrounds the core, and a jacket that surrounds the cladding.
A simplex optical connector is an optical connector that connects to an end of a single fiber. Various types or styles of simplex connectors are available in the market. A duplex optical connector is an optical connector that connects to the ends of two optical fibers. Various types or styles of duplex connectors are also available in the market. Simplex and duplex connectors receive the ends of the optical fibers in ferrules formed in the connector housings. When the fiber ends are initially installed in the ferrules, the ends of the fibers extend out and away from the ends of the ferrules. An optical fiber polishing jig is often used to manually polish the end of the optical fiber and the end of the ferrule to cause the end of the fiber and the end of the ferrule to be flush with one another.
One known polishing jig has two openings formed in a front side thereof that are spaced apart by a distance that is equal to the distance between the optical axes of the ferrules of a particular type or style of duplex connector. To use the jig with a duplex connector, the ferrules of the duplex connector are placed in abutment with the openings formed in the jig such that the ends of the fibers pass through the openings formed in the jig and out of the back side of the jig. A piece of abrasive paper is then used to polish the ends of the fibers and of the ferrules until they are flush with the back side of the jig. Then, a piece of lapping film is used to further polish the flush ends of the fibers and the ferrules. To use the jig with a simplex optical connector, the ferrule of the connector is placed in abutment with one of the openings formed in the jig such that the end of the fiber passes through the opening formed in the jig and extends away from the back side of jig. The end of the fiber and the end of the ferrule are then polished in the manner described above using the aforementioned abrasive paper and lapping film.
Although the polishing jig described above is versatile in that it can be used with simplex and duplex connectors, it can only be used with duplex connectors that have a particular spacing between the optical axes of the ferrules. It cannot be used with duplex connectors in which the optical axes of the ferrules are spaced apart by different distances. Therefore, the polishing jig has limited versatility.